Vortex
by chachingmel123
Summary: Shortly after Wally is pronounced dead. A new villinous speedster is on the scene named vortex. A chance encounter has the team meet Wally again with different memories and new name. How are these two connected?
1. Chapter 1

I do not own Young Justice.

Enjoy!

The most dangerous people in the world are always the ones who have no criminal background and yet they hide their true selves and pull of feats that could shake the world.

John could do just that.

On the surface he was a ordinary man, he had short black hair, black eyes, barely 6 ft and he lived in an apartment with his cat.

But nobody realised that he made it talk.

"Everyday, the same thing," said, the cat, seeing the giant deluxe computer.

"Immortal beings become mortal when unmasked," he said, "But who know it would be so easy to unmask heroes, sidekicks? Superboy doesn't even try, he just swaps out his t-shirt or wears a jacket over it. Conner Kent. Hmm" he stroked the cat.

He had Conner data in front of him including which school he goes to.

"And then there is Robin," he said, playing a clip of Robin from a news crew. "He's good but he relys on that mask and shades too much. His downfall was not changing his voice. I got a match immediately. Dick Grayson"

There was one of the many clips of Dick on tv, appearing on the screen, slap a mask on him and there was no doubt that he was robin.

"Let's see Miss Martian," he said. "All she did was change her skin. " before her human identity appeared. "Megan Moorse. They really do sound the same."

There was a clip of her shouting as she cheerleaded.

"Aqualad, he just wears regular clothes," he said. "Jackson Hyde but he doesn't use it much"

And the he said. "Kid Flash is Wally T West, a high schooler."

He had figured out all their identities but what really helped was this.

He pulled up a photo of all five of them together in civilian clothes.

He figured out Robins identity and the rest just slid into place.

Artemis didn't even try bothering with a hero's name.

"Now what to do with this information?" He said. "Do I hack into all the city's they live in and broadcast this information live, effectively ruining their lives and those closest to them? Give this information to all the villains so they can manhunt them. Or do I do something else with it?"

It was shocking how nobody had figured this out.

Those from the Justice Leagues were so much more better at keeping their identities hidden then these kids.

The only one out of the group that posed a Challenge was Kid Flash, his civilian self never spoke on live tv like Dick did.

But he found all of them together in a camera footage which helped him unmask him.

But a major concern of his was, was how tied in the tv networks were with Wayne industries.

Anything that remotely had the image of Dick Grayson in it, gets picked up immediately and judged before being allowed to broadcast.

This was why there was nothing but positivity when the teens face aired.

He would have to hack into Wayne industries to get all the identities passed them and that would set off an alarm.

"Man, I hate billion dollar companies," he said.

And when he looked into it more, he kept seeing Lex Luther prop up.

This man knew these teens identities and had been keeping them.

"What a mess," he said. "These kids are protected. I'm only one man"

And yet, he couldn't do nothing about this.

Perhaps, he better keep watching, a superhero is the most vulnerable on a mission.

He had no idea that he existed because Bart Allan wanted to change the future.

The raptured caused him to be born.

Every time somebody breaks the laws of time, something terrible is born.

And his eyes immediately went to the new Flash that suddenly appeared.

His interest was peaked when this boy solved poisoning that shouldn't be curable currently when the boy thought nobody was looking but a camera survived to look.

Somebody from the future?

That meant some big event was apparently going down, he wanted to prevent.

Could it be, a hero does in this event?

His mind wirls and they begin to focus on the flash that wasn't as fast as Impulse or The Flash.

Kid Flash.

Out of the flashes, he was the one who was most likely to die in a scenario where he had to be as fast as The Flash or Impulse.

He saw the Reach and never touched the energy drink, instead he analysed it and found that the innocent looking beverage was filled with lies.

The effects targeted his ability to have children, it would be seen in the next generation and the generation after that.

The more he drank, the worst it got.

When the atmosphere began to change after the Reach left, he know what they left behind was serious, the Flash was the only one to do it.

He figured it out before even Lex Luther did.

This was the highest time, somebody had the possibility of dying.

But this thing...

"I can captured Kid Flash with this," he said, it was a hunch but if Kid flash joins in and his speed isn't enough, causing him to go into the speed force, he can snatch him when he enters and nobody would be the wiser.

He had hours to find a way to download Kid Flash, but he was at his best when he's in a hurry.

He worked as an engineer so he had the necessary equipment to do it and nobody would ask questions if he did it in small parts, he built a chamber in which he dreamed to trap a superhero within it.

You can get away with a lot when people think your a normal person and you aren't working for a big company or secret lab.

He sent out a small drone, so tiny that it could be an air particle before it headed to the north pole.

He witnesses it all and knew immediately that the Flash and Impulse wasn't enough to stop it.

They needed another one and Wally soon joined into the fray.

His hypothesis was right, and Wally soon proved his speed was good enough but at a cost.

When that strike hit the now adult, he activated the machine.

It was so easy to latch onto Kid Flash energy while everybody was looking shocked at what was happening.

The man disappeared and the day was saved.

Wally was pronounced dead at the scene and John looked at his chamber with glee and began to fill it with sleeping gas.

Kid Flash began to show up in this chamber and his eyes were wide with shock when he realised he had been captured but he didn't get to think much because the sleeping gas got to him.

When the man was soundly asleep, he then blocked all transmitter from his suit and destroyed it, by burning it in his fireplace.

Now, what to do?

Should he use him to collect the others?

"It's always shocking how smart you are," said, the cat.

"Yes, that's why the world must never know how smart I am," he said. "Geniuses get on the news and get high positions with high publicity. The league would be watching me 24-7 and kidnapping will always be on the table"

Geniuses, had a very tough world and being perceived as normal, is lot better.

He then took Wally out again, and this time put a helmet on him.

All his memories began to appear on screen in folder formats.

With everybody thinking he's dead, he had all the time in the world to mess with his mind.

"Me and you are going to spend a lot of time together," he said, looking down at the man who was unconscious now due to the helmet.

He went to the computer and began to look through his memories.

"Oh, he's not going to need this, anymore." he said, dragging a folder that said 'memories with Artemis' and putting it a digital trash bin. "This software took me 6 months to develop and its made it so easy to rewrite a person"

This software did what a telepathy could do when mad so it was quite shocking.

He clicked on his name and began to backspace and type in...

He didn't know.

"Any suggestions for our new servant superhero?" He said to his cat.

"How about 'Vortex'?" Said his cat. "And his civilian name Richard Castlin. I'm just thinking"

"Great thought," he said as he input it in and played with everything as if he was creating a game character.

You would think this process would take an hour but in truth in took several days, messing with a person head was not an easy task.

He had to make sure he could function on his own if he was ever outside as a civilian and that he didn't suddenly have a 'I must find answers to blanks in my memory' moment.

Wally was strong-willed and was especially fighting it when he finished with the changes and downloaded it back into his head.

But he was in no such hurry and instead went onto designing him a new costume having destroying his old one.

Thinking about the costume that had a tracker and a transmitter embedded inside made him want to get rid of it again.

So while Wally was fighting it without any food in his stomach, he was ordering Chinese and going to work.

You would have never guessed he had a trapped superhero in his basement when you saw him come in, which made it that much scarier.

After two months, he came home to see the download was complete and that once incredibly fit Wally West had become bones and skin due to lack of food.

It was easy to start tweaking Wally at this point since he couldn't even protest.

John then took a cup of water and a slice of bread and went down to his basement, he didn't wake Wally up but he opened his mouth, poured the water into it and it went in smoothly down his throat before cutting the slice of bread up and putting it into his mouth, the Siliva did the work for him.

He kept on feeding him, morning, afternoon and night, bread and water so that be can get back to a more acceptable weight.

And then after a month of this, he finally woke him and Wally's hands shot up, the instant cook beef went across his nose.

He grabbed it and John watch him devour it all, even licking the whole bowl clean, before going to the bowl filled with grapes, the bowl filled with pasta, the bowl filled with bread finally going to bowl filled with chicken.

30 dollars worth of food was gone just like that, in a single sitting.

"Vortex," he said through a voice changer.

The man responded to the name and turned to find it was a man dressed in black with a mask and lab coat.

"Yes, Master?" He said.

And he know he had done it.

"I have a mission for you to do in an hour," said John. "Completing this will prove that you are of use to me and I didn't waste resources raising you"

"Yes, Master," he said, before he was presented with a costume that would make the likes of Batman green with envy because of the tech, the costume even turned his hair white and longer.

"In this costume is tech that will make sure the Justice League or their sidekicks don't plant a bug on you or read you mind," said John. "Let's just say if somebody does try to read your mind, there are going to get a very nasty headache"

Vortex put it on and received his mission and a quick rundown on how to completely get a way using his speed.

"You target is a jewellery store." Said, John. "In a world filled with heroes. Take a handfull of jewellery and then come straight back."

Vortex activated his helmet and through a heavily changed voice, said. "Yes, master" and then a vortex opened behind him.

He ran through it.

#Gothem City#

He found himself in a city well known for its high crime rate, he surely won't stand out here in a city were there is a bank robbery every day and people were getting mugged left and right.

Iconic villains like the Joker and Penguin came from this city, after all.

He then sped to the nearest Jewellery store, and entered before anybody truly noticed him, he took his sweet time when he was moving faster than everybody else and took diamonds, watchers and earrings that had expensive price tags, put in into his pocket before he sped out, took sandwich bags, dark marker, cardboard, scissors and celtape from a nearby shop.

He then put all Jewellery in the shop, including the jewellery in the back, in tiny sandwich bags, put a sign that said 'free real jewellery. I don't need it so first came first serve-Vortex', taped it over and then proceeded to put the bags in obvious places normal people can find them, including a preschool and a normal school.

When time did catch up with his actions, there was a huge uproar in the city, as one jewellery store found themselves cleaned out and people were finding expensive real jewellery nearby.

Well, who wouldn't grab free stuff?

"Holy cow!" Said a woman who saw the diamond ring suddenly placed in front of her, she took it and saw a nice ring and necklace that sparkled inside.

You can only imagine the large villain half of the city reaction when they saw the jewellery they could tell was real from a single glance.

"Oh, my. How did they know I was looking to get a new ring?" Said Harley Quinn, as she slipped a huge red sapphire ring onto her finger, while she went 'clothes shopping'.

And now imagine the heroes side finding this jewellery before them, as the store called the police.

Vortex went through a vortex back to his masters lab and presented to him a fist full of jewellery.

"Very good Vortex," said John taking the jewellery. "You have proven to be useful after all"

And now his pet Superhero was on the Hero's and Villains radar.

And scene!

Next chapter, Batman reviews the footage from the city and alerts the Justice league of an another speedster. Meanwhile, John gives his pet superhero an official identity as a home designer. Review/ fav and follow!


	2. Chapter 2

I do not own Young Justice.

Enjoy!

Robin, who was now Nightwing, his own superhero stood before the latest generation of wannabe professional superheroes.

Behind him was his mentor, Batman and beside the man was Red Tornado.

Losing Wally had been a massive blow to them all, even with Impulse here, he still couldn't prevent Wally death.

To think Wally had planned to retire shortly after with Artemis do start a family.

The future was now much brighter but Wally still had to be sacrificed to make this happen.

Artemis had practically become obsessed with the speed force by asking The Flash about and when she wasn't doing that, she was depressed.

"We have a new problem," said Nightwing to the young aspiring heroes.

The screen showed a very cool looking superhero with reasonable length white hair walking.

"We had to slow down the footage to see him," said Red Tornado. "Here's him, halfway to the original"

And then they saw him drastically speed up.

That was...

"A speedster?" Said Impulse, as everybody looked surprised.

But what happened next wasn't something they were prepared for.

He ran into a jewellery store and started robbing the place!

Some had to rob their eyes since they had never seen a speedster rob a place before.

But he kept robbing the place, he went to another store for supplies, before he began ransacking the jewellery in the back, taking his sweet time in doing so.

Halfway he turned directly to the camera and held a sign that said. 'Fuck Batman' and his right hand had the middle finger raised.

"Holy cow, he's bold!" Said wasp, never had she seen a person publicly flip off the Batman before.

And then he went outside and they saw him place bags full of thousands of dollars worth of jewellery at random places that can easily be spotted by normal people.

And then he waved at the camera and sped off literally disappearing before their very eyes.

"This incident was on the Gotham news," said Nightwing. "He calls himself Vortex and he stole millions of dollars worth of jewellery, but only took a tiny portion and gave the rest to the people. I don't know if he thinks of himself as some kind of robin hood or is did this to make fun of the justice system. However, Gotham isn't the only place he hit"

Batman said. "At a museum in Star City, he stole a bone and somebody's radio before causing thousands in damage. In Metropolis, he stole food from a vending machine before steal equipment from a university and leaving after doing as much damage as possible. And finally, in Happy Habour, he started pickpocketing everybody on a beach before moving them into water where they could easily drown"

"So a petty criminal recently gained Superspeed?" Said Miss martian coming in.

"We have looked at that but we can not exclude that this criminal may be smarter then what he lets on or he is working under somebody," said Batman. "If any of these chances are true then he maybe a lot more dangerous than we think. With his ability to disappear completely, he would be a pain to catch but he would be deadly if he teams up with another villain to get something powerful enough to destroy a city"

"No problem this looks a job for the new Kid Flash," said Impulse, but as soon as he said that there was an uncomfortable silence in the room.

He wondered if it was too soon.

"The Flash has also been notified to be on the lookout for him," said Red Tornado, ignoring the silence. "A speedster may be the thing needed to bring him in. We do not want another Zoom"

"Zoom? Who's Zoom?" Said Beast Boy.

"Somebody from the past," said Batman and that was the end of that. "The police are also on high alert for this person. One day he would have to slow down. If we can find out his identity then we can take him in"

They all agreed.

#Scene Change, Beverly Hills#

A door opened.

"And here you are," said an old woman.

Vortex stood with a box in his arms, he wore as close to the real thing square red glasses resting on his nose, ring and wore a green sweater, suit pants and shoes, in his ears was a earpiece for phone calls.

He looked around and saw a medium-sized apartment, that was fully furnished but the windows weren't absolute huge covering a single side of the apartment, it was 1500 a month.

"Thank you," he said, his voice slightly cold but then again so was his appearance.

The woman gave him his keys and said. "If there is any maintenance problem, feel free to ring" and then she left.

She left thinking how weird he was, appearing with just one box, usually, they would come with a suitcase or hundreds of bags.

But who was she to judge?

He walked into the apartment some more and put his box down, tomorrow was going to be hell because he had to interact with people more than he already did at his 'job'.

He went to the fridge and found nothing inside, so he went out of the apartment, locked the door, ignored any neighbour who said hi and went in search for the nearest supermarket.

He was back in 10 minutes having pretty much-ignored everybody and went for the self service isle.

He walked back to the apartment and went to the kitchen where he began making home cooked food.

He tried and failed.

He sat in front the tv eating half burnt food and went to bed, feeling like somebody was missing from his bed but he managed to shake it off and sleep just fine.

When morning came, he was woken up by the alarm in the headset and turned it off, before heading to the bathroom.

He put on the hot tap and stepped in, drowning himself in water not wanting to leave but his Master told him, he needed a life as a civilan.

He couldn't be his normal self Vetrox all the time, because it would increase his chances of getting caught.

He reluctantly stepped out, brushed his teeth, put on a robe and then went to eat, he soon wanted to later purchase a toaster and made himself an all meat lunch sandwich before turning on the TV.

He saw the most recent crime spree in the city before he finished eating and put on his work suit, opening his work case to make sure all his nesscarities were there.

He made sure he was fully shaven before he headed to the door, and went out on the busy streets, heading to his new job.

He walked into an ordinary looking building and walked inside, he went to the counter, forced to interact with the desk woman and said. "My name is Richard Castlin. I'm supposed to start today"

The women looked up to see his professional mannism and looked at the computer to check in fact he did have to start today.

"Let me show you to the client you will be attending to and I'll tell you the rates," said the woman and he followed her.

"Now since, you new. We ask the client, what they want, how much they are willing to pay and make sure they are well informed about how the house is built or redesigned" she said.

She didn't need to tell him this information about the job had already been inputted into his mind.

He was taken to a room where a woman sat dressed in channel.

"Fine," she said, seeing him.

He took a seat opposite her and said. "Sorry for the wait" even though it was 8:30 in the morning. "Ma'am what kind of house are you lo-"

"I want it top notch since I'm building it for my daughter," said the woman not even allowing him to finish. "I want imported furniture from Spain. I want automated, curtains"

He got out a notebook and a recording device which he hid in his pocket.

"I want a flat screen coming out of the floor" she continued. "I want triple glazed windows-"

"And how much is your budget ma'am?" He said.

"150," she said.

"150,000 dollars?" He said she looked at him like he was stupid.

"No, It's 150 bucks," she said.

And it was at this moment that he stopped writing.

150 buck?

Is she serious?

She was.

He had come in contact with what was known as a choosing bigger.

"Ma'am, do you know how much an average house goes for these days?" He said to her. "If you want a top-notch house built, you are looking at 100,000 dollars at least."

"100,000!?" She said. "There is no way, I can afford that. I came to you because you were the cheapest. You people are running a scam, how can it be thar high?"

"Ma'am, this price includes the cost for manual labour and materials," he said. "Would you work for months for a simple 150 dollars that is going to be split by at least 50 people?"

"Well, I only have 150," she said. "Can't you give me some wiggle room? Isn't there a discount I can get?"

Discount?

This coming from a woman who is dressed in hundreds of dollars worth of clothes?

"So let me get this straight," he said. "You expect this company to build a top-notch house that has furniture imported from another country, for free?"

"Well, it's not not free. I'll be paying 150 dollars" she said.

"Ma'am, this is a business. Not a charity" he said, making her face turn red. "I'm a designer so before the materials are even brought, you have to get past me. I'm not spending hours of my time for a single penny or nothing, and so is everybody else. Everybody here wants to survive"

And then she shrieked, shouting about how ungrateful he was for not appreciating her business, and how she had promised her daughter a new house.

He wanted to snap her neck.

Somebody came to check on them when they heard the yelling and the woman lied, telling them that he called her racist words and told her, nobody would believe her.

He merely played the recording he took to counter her and her face turned as white as a sheet.

She was escorted by security out and banned from the company grounds.

Vortex knew that the pay was generous but he soon realised, the pay was too low as he had to deal with people like her and those who had no manners at all before putting money down.

He wanted to quit within 3 hours but how would he have the money to live in an over a thousand dollar a month apartment?

He also found out that this job also required him to go abroad as well to see the land and talk to the client.

There were clients who had crazy requests but paid to meet it, but more often then not, he wishes to throw them out of the window.

It was literally 3 months before a billionaire caught wind of him, during this time there was a robbery in Texas and Hollywood by the villain Vortex.

Again, useless junk was stolen but with the right mind, it was the terrifying piece of the puzzle.

Vortex flew in a jet to gothem city, the last time he had been here, he had robbed it.

The plane touched down and he was stunned to be greeted by his client when he was the ground.

Lex Luther.

"Welcome, Mister Castlin," said the man, stretching his hand out.

He was taken back that a billionaire would come meet him personally.

"Nice, to meet you, Mr Luther," he said, holding his hand and shaking it, without the 'I want to throw you off a cliff' look in his eyes, that the man noted instantly. "You didn't have to greet me."

"Nonsense. I flew you out here" said the man as they began to walk. "The least I could do is greet you. You must be very tired"

"I do feel sleepy but I can hold out. My job requires me to work well into the morning on most days" he said.

He saw a limousine and hadn't realised that the man expected him to get in into it until they drew close enough to it.

He got in and so did the man, he made sure to sit opposite the man.

"Now, Mr Luther. While I was on the plane and home. I came up with some extremely rough designs in case you didn't have a set goal in mind" he said, he got out a long rolled up piece of paper and handed to the man.

The man was stunned to see how good these where.

"Of course, extremely rough work," he said.

"These are good. I especially like the one with the large basement" said Luther.

"Well, my past clients like the basement as well so I thought to include it," he said, his more wealthier clients that were never going to step into the house went crazy for basement that was a mini home.

He tried to ignore how the woman, Luther assistant had been staring at him since he got in.

"Excuse me by asking but have we met before?" Said Luther.

Vortex blinked and said "Sorry but this is the first time. I would have surely remembered meeting you, Mr Luther"

He wasn't going to forget a person who was going to give him his huge payday.

The man looked at him before saying. "Well since you awake. How about coming with me to a party?"

"I have to decline, Mr Luther," he said, surprising the man. "Surely somebody of your stature would be going to parties with big business heads, royalty and world leaders. It's no place for a House Designer like me"

Silence.

"Uh, huh. And you sure, we haven't met before?" Said Luther, leaning back.

"Sorry but I've only seen you on tv" he said.

And then the vehicle stopped, and the door opened.

He got out and was stunned to see a high class hotel with lights and the works.

"Enjoy, you stay," said Lex Luther as he was shown inside the hotel.

The door was shut and the vehicle began to drive away.

#Inside the Vechile#

"What did you think?" Said Lex to his assistant.

"My sense's tell me, he was telling the truth all the way," she said.

"I got the strong feeling as well," said Lex Luther. "I didn't feel any anomonistry in him. Either he has turned into the best actor, I have ever met. Or his entire mind has been rewritten to the point he shows respect to me"

He had a hunch that it was the later.

Wally West had survived but he might as well have not had since he was convinced he was somebody else.

He smiled.

How amusing.

And scene!

Next chapter, Vortex is invite to a lunch meal with Luther and Luther watchers, are shocked to see him and it suddenly spreads through all the hero's that he's alive finally making its way to Artemis. Review/ fav and follow!


	3. Chapter 3

I do not own Young Jistice.

Enjoy!

Vortex could not believe how fancy his room was, he originally thought he would stay in a normal hotel but this hotel made sure nobody could break in to steal the wealthy stuff.

He tried calling rpom service in the evening and was told the price was already taken care of, which was a plus.

He then watched tv and did some designs before going to bed in the fanciest bed he had ever seen.

All the while, he felt like he was being watched.

He woke up to Luther calling him, to see if he was free in the afternoon to discuss business.

He was got up fast and tripping over himself to get ready when he saw the time.

He wore his work suit and then walked out to find a limousine waiting for him, his work stuff inside his briefcase as he got in.

He met Luther at the mans favourite place to have lunch in Gothem city, he only looked and already he felt like he didn't belong here.

He walked into the open space and saw Lex Luther sitting down, no doubt eating food priced at a margin that would make most people walk away.

The man saw him and motioned for him to sit down, so he did.

"So how was the hotel room. I trust everything is to you liking?" Said Lex.

"There was nothing to complain about Mr Luther," he said before he said. "So what is your budget Mr Luther and what kind of house do you have in mind?" He opened his briefcase. "I built on the basement idea"

Just then Luther motioned for a waiter over, never had Vortex seen a person walk so fast over.

"Is there anything the matter, Mr Luther?" Said, the waiter.

"As always splendid food. I was wondering if my associate can have one of your famous shortcakes" said Luther.

"Mr Luther, you don't have to-" Vortex began.

"It's no trouble at all," said Luther. "I flew you here so I might as well treat you as well"

The waiter bowed and left, Vortrex tried to continue the conversation but it was awkward and he was starving.

When the cake showed up, he wanted to devour the thing and managed to eat slowly under the man insistence.

It was delicious.

"So Mr Luther, whats your budget?" He said, eating the cake onto the side.

"Well, I was thinking two million," he said. "I want this house to be orphanage for poor children. I would need a lot of space especially in the basement"

And Vortrex who was more in touch with his evil side could smell the bs.

What's to stop the man from changing the house once it was built?

#Scene Change#

"I'm seeing this but I can't believe it." Said Green Lantin. "Wally with Lex Luther!?"

Wally West was pronounced dead and yet here he was having lunch with Lex Luther and there was no mission assigned that forced him to be civil with the man.

Although Wally was now wearing glasses, a headset and work suit, it was still him.

Green Lantine began to call the rest of the league and made sure to point a camera their way for the disbelieving Justice League members who thought he was lying.

By the time they all saw it, the food was eaten and they were going into a limousine to discuss in more detail in one of his homes some more.

A lot of superheroes who countless people looked up to, opened and closed their mouths.

Green lantine followed the vechile to the giant home and watching from afar, through the luxurious windows was the image of Lex Luther pouring a drink for him from his expensive cabinate.

If it wasn't for Luther heavy security around the house, green lantine could have gotten closer and could only try to read lips.

There is no way the likes of Batman could hack in especially when Luther was obviously on high alert and was most likely blocking any listening devices.

"Do you drink?" Said Luther.

"Sorry, I don't," he said. "I work long hours and I need to be sharp for that. I may end up calling a client in a drunken haze. That would be a very bad scenario for me"

"Indeed it would be," said Luther.

That, and Vortex knew his master wouldn't appreciate him drunk enough to reveal his identity or that he was a speedster.

"No matter. I got some none alcoholic beverages" said Luther.

"Sir, I'm completely fine without a drink. I'm leaving for tonight at an airport anyway" he said.

Luther stopped pouring and said. "Your artwork is very good. What art school did you go to?"

"Actually, it was self taught," he said. "I doodle all the time as a kid and it stuck with me growing up. One day somebody noticed my passion and asked if I wanted to design homes and the rest is history, really. I didn't go to a fancy art school as those artistic people did so I'm just getting by."

"Well, many great artists come from just drawing on the side," said Luther, sitting down. "Now where we?"

#Scene Change#

"WHAT! WALLY IS ALIVE!?" Said Artemis after Miss Martian decided to drop the bombshell on her.

"Wait. How!?" She said.

"He's meeting with Lex Luther," said Miss martian. "But we don't knew for sure if it really him. We may have another Ray incident again."

They paid dearly for that mistake.

"Send me to monitor him," said Artemis. "I know him the best"

"Already on that" said Nightwing coming in. "Pack your bags. You're going to Beverly Hills"

#Scene Change#

They had talked for several hours before Vortex reluctantly agreed to accompany him to a party because the time of his flight was 1 in the morning.

So he found himself in one of Luther many prepared thousand dollar suits.

The thought of stealing the rack did come to mind but he didn't think he could get away with it, with so many cameras and how many eyes tried to steal from Luther every day, there must be a tracking chip or something.

So he came out in a nice three-piece suit and followed the man into his limousine.

They arrived at the party 45 minutes later and the way Luther just automatically commanded the place when people saw him, reminded him of his Master at home and wasn't pretending to be normal.

Now that man could unsettle even the bravest of people if he showed his true colours.

It was because of this expertly crafted mask his master wore that he was allowed him to see through Luthers as well.

The man had been watching him the moment he laid eyes on him and he knew Luther must be dangerous if he was generous towards him.

And now everybody had noticed him, making sure he was on his best behaviour.

Just great.

"Mister Castlin" suddenly Luther voice rang out as he just asked for water.

He turned to see Luther as expected, surrounded by rich looking men and women.

He walked over and everybody eyed him.

"This is Richard Castlin," said Luther introducing him. "His a house designer and he's very good at his job"

"Or really?" Said a man. "And what houses have you designed?"

"Well to date, other than Mr Luther, currently," said Vortex. "I actually did some work for Wayne industries"

Wait.

What!?

Even Luther seemed surprised and those who knew about Batman identity, while listening in, turned to Batman.

"Really?" Said Luther.

"I was hired to design the furniture, not the actual home, unfortunately," said Vortex. "I am simply too unknown to truly design a Wayne house"

#Scene Change#

"I'm already on it Batman," said Nightwing, going through the recent contracts and finding it. "It's true. Wayne Industries did hire him, a month back."

Batman was surprised but then again, he didn't pay attention to the people designing the small things but those who was building his tech.

Plus, he wasn't a large smuggler or doing anything illegal that he knew off.

#Scene Change#

"Really?" Said the woman. "Does that mean you've met Bruce Wayne?"

"Bruce, hardly hires in person," said Luther. "He was must likely hired through an envoy or Proxy"

Bruce.

He calls him Bruce.

"That is exactly it," said Vortex. "Unfortunately, I don't think you've heard of my other past clients. But enough about me. I would love to know about all of you"

His words were like butter and your couldn't tell he couldn't care less.

And boy could those super-rich people talk about themselves and what they own.

Vortex made a photographic memory so he would remember what they own and thought his master maybe interested in some items.

They talked all the way to the time, he needed to leave for the airport.

"Well, I better get back to my hotel. I have a flight to catch" he said, he was about to call a cab when Luther said.

"Please. Use my limosuine. I've got 40 just like it" said Luther.

Vortex took it back to his hotel, packed everything up, ignored how his stuff wasn't quite in the same place and then went out, he was checked out by the hotel staff and walked into the limousine.

It took him an hour to get to the airport and walk into the airport.

He then proceeded to walk to the line of business class to Beverly Hills, he had a really bad gut feeling about using Luther private plane so he managed to fix a ride home without relying on the man.

He spent hours, tapping on his laptop basically working on things and arrived back in Beverly Hills in the morning.

He got off and still felt like he was being watched, he got in a Taxi and got off, wheeling his suitcase to his apartment.

He ignores everybody and entered his apartment before looking at his fridge and going to a 24-hour convenience store he knee lived by and buying a crazy amount of food.

He was starving and then took the numerous bags and went back to the apartment and shut the door and draw the windows.

He was sure that once his watcher we're convinced that he was a normal person then they would loosen their grip.

But if they don't and get in the way of his master's missions.

He slammed a knife into a wood board.

He would end them.

#The morning after#

The company allowed him a few days to recover from the trip with Luther and he spent that reading Luthet requests for him for the next time they meet.

He heard a knock on the door and got up, wondering if he had ordered something that was too big to fit in the mail box.

He opened the door and in his view was a beautiful blond haired woman with grey eyes in white top that showed off her belly button and tight green pants.

"Hi, my name is Artemis West" she said. "I just moved here and wanted to introduce myself to my neighbours"

Introduce...

She sure was.

But his heart hardened and said. "Nice to meet you, Miss West."

She looked surprised and then his cold-hearted nature truly kicked in.

"Rule one of my door," he said, suddenly stepping forward and Artemis step back without her body realising.

"Don't knock on my door again" he said. "If you want to tell me something, slid a paper through the door. Dont tell me in the hall, don't struck up a conversation, don't invite me to anything. I'm not interested it. Got it?"

Artemis eyes were wide.

And then he said. "If you follow that, we'll get along. Welcome to the neighbourhood, Miss West"

He walked back in and slammed the door behind him making sure to lock the door.

Artemis stood in the doorway frozen and so were all those who were listening through the wire.

She thought she had prepared but she hadn't prepared enough.

But hearing her boyfriends cold voice directed as her, hurt a little inside.

And scene!

Next chapter, Artemis talks to the neighbours and begins to watch how anti-social. She get into Vortex place of work and those who hunt anybody who comes in contact with Luther, decide to strike. Review/ fav and follow!


	4. Chapter 4

I do now own Young Justice.

Enjoy!

To say Artemis and those listening were shocked, was an understatement.

It was like he was Wally when she and him first met but so much worse.

It was like his heart had completely frozen over.

Suddenly Artemis heard.

"Seriously, that boy. He should be softer in front of a lady" said, a low voice.

Artemis turned to meet a scuffled looking man who looked to be in his 50's, the man looked surprised to find out he was loud enough for her to hear.

"No, wait" said, Artemis seeing him about to leave. "Do you know that guy?"

"Know him?" said, the man. "He's the most anti-social person in the whole building. You say hi and he doesn't even acknowledge you exist. He pays rent and doesn't want to be disturbed. But if he's talking to a client, you swear he's a different guy. He's as sweet as pie. Money can change even a guy like that"

Those hearing were shocked to hear Wally true personality from a neighbour.

"Do you know when he moved in?" said, Artemis.

"I think a couple of months ago" said, the man. "Believe it or not, he was even more anti-social a few months back. He would look at you like you weren't even there unless he wanted to use you for something. A few of the other neighbours think he may be a wealthy business man son. Not many of us pay in cash right up front like he did. This place is 700 as a security deposit and over a grand a month. You get the feeling that he could have gotten a place way more expensive."

But then the man realised he was talking too much about his neighbour and it was none of his business.

"If he asks, I was never here at this moment" said, the man before rushing off.

Artemis went back to her new apartment and said. "So a guy who looks exactly like Wally and sounds like him, isn't claiming to be Wally and lives like a normal person? That's a break from the clone theory."

#Several days later#

It had been several days since he began living next to that blond hair woman that for some reason wanted his attention every time he stepped foot outside his apartment.

But finally he was going back to work and won't have to deal with her for at least 6 hours.

He put on his work suit and walked out, ignoring everybody and heading for his workplace just like the rest of the population.

He entered his work place feeling like he was going to stay cooped up in his department for the rest of the day.

Just 5 guys at drawing tables and not talking to each other for hours.

Bliss.

"Hey, Richard have you met the new temp?" He suddenly heard.

He turned and who he saw next was none other than that woman Artemis in a suit and dragging a trolley behind her.

Oh, god, no.

"We've met" He said, pretty much shutting down any conversation. "Now excuse me" he walked back into the room.

"Sorry about that" said, his co-worker.

He sat down and went to work, hopping she wouldn't attempt to speak to him but that woman was like a snake.

The moment the other guys went out for lunch, she wheeled her way in and said. "Do you want anything from the trolley?"

He bite his tongue and said. "No thanks, I made my own lunch." he pulled out his own lunch and Artemis was shocked to see a sandwich that was packed with every meat imaginable just how Wally likes.

"Can I ask how old are you?" she suddenly said.

He took a bite and pretended she hadn't spoken at all.

#Scene change#

"I see him now, boss" said, a buff man with a gun.

"Take the shot. I want him brought to me" said, the voice on the other end. "Luther is going to stack that house with new tech and we need the blueprints"

"Yes, boss" said, the buff man before getting out a giant cannon and locking onto him and firing.

#Scene Change#

Artemis sighed when she saw his attitude.

"Artemis, there is something fast approaching you and the other guys location" said, Nightwing in her ear.

Suddenly Vortex found himself being grabbed out of his seat and dragged to the door.

"What are you-" He said.

"No time to talk" said, Artemis.

Suddenly Vortex saw Gas fill the room he was once in and the sound of the window smashing was heard, he then saw giant hands grip the outside of the door and a head began to slow poke out.

Vortex being dragged, soon turned into an actual run.

"Richard Castlin. We need to talk" said, the buff man, running towards them.

"Oh, my god. Is that a person!?" he said, in fake panic.

Why was his civilian self being attacked!?

"Over here" said, Artemis having kicked down an air vent making his eyes go wide.

Well, he wasn't going to not go.

He and her slide down it, into a cart for the warehouse below ground floor.

Suddenly they both heard a beeping sound.

Vortex looked to see a small ball flashing.

He jumped out and instinctive grabbed Artemis out of the basket and seconds later, the thing blew up.

It wasn't huge enough to kill them but it was there to cause damage.

If only he could use his super speed.

But his experience with staying calm under pressure and thinking was starting to shine through.

He would cut anywhere he could and even went to the closet to change his looks to a janitor and walk out.

All this proved he wasn't a normal guy, like Artemis thought.

"Who are you?" said, Artemis.

"I should be asking, who are you?" said, Vortex. "You move with experience and your quick to think. I'm just a normal guy who design's house's for a living, why would I have somebody after me? It's not like I'm building a house for a weapon's expert!"

And Artemis couldn't say anything about his contact with Lex Luther making him a target.

They managed to make it outside and that's when the whole building came crumbling down by an enraged lunatic.

"MY PAYCHECK!" Vortex yelled, before he noticed the looks and said. "I am mean I hope everybody got out"

But inwardly he was cursing.

His place of work was gone, which meant that he was practically out of a job unless somebody transferred him to another branch.

Wait, what about his work for Lex Luther?

Would the man ask for his money back?

"I need to go home and lie down" He said, wobbling to his apartment, suddenly he was grabbed by his janitor uniform.

"Don't, go!" said, Artemis. "You don't know if there is anybody waiting for you to return home"

He cut the connection off and said. "Who on earth are you? I just lost my job, I need to think about how I'm going to get another job for when my savings can not pay rant"

"I-I can't tell you" said, Artemis. "But I want to tell you because of your contact with Lex Luther, your in danger. If people think your connected to Luther technology then they are not above killing or kidnapping you. If you want to go home, its your choice but I don't think even I can help you"

Silence.

"Alright." he said, "I don't know why but I trust you. You did save me back there. But what do you suggest me to do? Do you mysterious have a house where there is no rent?"

"We'll..." she said.

#Several hours later#

"Richard, meet Will. Will meet Richard" said, Artemis to the clone who came to live with her.

Both guys stared at each other, before they saw the dog.

Brucely practically tackled Vortex to the ground when the dog saw him and the man found himself being licked all over by an animal.

"Get this thing off of me!" He said.

Will managed to pull him up while Artemis sniffled a laughter.

"He's just happy to see you." said, Will.

"I don't care just keep that mutt away from me" said, Vortex heartlessly shocking all three even the dog.

"Now where is my room? I'll try to contribute to the money until I can get out of this place" said, Vortex.

"Follow me" said, Artemis going to a guest room away from her and Wally's room.

It was a normal room.

"if you want food, go get it yourself" said, Artemis before walking right out.

She didn't see that he left the door slightly open to still look closed.

"So what is he?" said, Will. "Is he a clone like me?"

"Well, I'm not sure" said, Artemis. "DNA results should be done any minute"

He slowly closed the door.

Where they trying to link him to his biological parents or something?

Vortex couldn't remember anything before his Master, the man who raised him, maybe they worked for his biological parents?

Anyway, as soon as he knew he was safe, he was gone.

But boy did this place feel really familiar for some reason.

#Scene Change#

"Artemis" said, Night wing through the air piece.

"Yes, Nightwing?" said, Artemis.

"I just got the DNA test results back" said, Nightwing. "Its a match." shocking both of them. "There is a very high chance that he isn't just a clone but our Wally. Even his Metagene is visible but I have no idea if its active of or not."

Artemis was stunned.

"Have you asked him about his life or has he done anything that reeked of Wally?" said, Nightwing.

Suddenly Artemis remember the sandwich.

"Like Wally? Do you mean like that?" said, Will pointing to the direction of the fridge.

They all turned and saw Vortex pilling food into his arms and making what looked like a giant all around sandwich.

Vortax noticed their eyes.

"What?" He said, "Was the fridge off limits? I'll pay for it all"

"...No, there is no need" said, Will.

Vortax finished making his sandwich and made his way to the room to eat it.

When he finished it, he was immediately trying to call Luther only to find the phone signal was dead for him.

Just great.

He decided to lay down until he heard.

"Dinner is ready"

He got up and went to the dinning room, to see a meal fit for a King.

He suppressed the absolute joy he was feeling seeing so much food.

He sat down.

"So, Richard, was it?" said, Will. "What do you do?"

"Homes designer" Said, Vortax.

"Oh" said, Will. "Any interesting stories on home design?"

"Look. Unless your hiring me for a job. There is no chance we will be friends" said, Vortex. "I just want to leave this place and get out of everybody's hair. I'm going for a walk"

He got up and began to walk out.

And Artemis couldn't say anything because that would set him off even more.

He grabbed his coat and began to walk out, but both Artemis and Rory knew he was going to be watched.

He only walked down the street and came back again, before walking back to the room.

"He kind of reminds of me of a mixture of Conner and me back in the day" said, Will. "But with time, he'll loosen up"

Just then they got a massive alert.

"What is it, Nightwing?" said, Artemis.

"The Villain Vortex is on the move" said, Nightwing. "Sending the Flash and Impulse over there now"

#Scene Change#

"I love the smell of things to steal in the Night" said Vortex, he had needed this.

He master wanted him to break into some lab and steal some test tubes and office supplies.

He ran inside and took it, all seemed fine when he was suddenly aware of the sound of two whooshing sounds.

Before he knew it, he was faced with Impulse who was dressed as Kid Flash and The Flash.

"Really? Stealing office supplies?" said Impulse.

Suddenly Vortax began to run and both The Flash and Impulse was right behind him.

"What are you doing using your speed to steal?" said the Flash. "Its so much more rewarding to use your speed to help people"

Suddenly Vortax came to a surprising stop, both Impulse and The Flash couldn't stop themselves as quickly him and ended up going past him.

Immediately, Vortrax used his elbow and slammed it into Impulse chest.

The hero was sent flying back due to the forces clashing and Vortrax tripped the Flash.

Before both could recover he jumped down a manhole, closed it and left through a Vortex.

He was gone.

"Okay, that wasn't how I managed that going" Said the Flash.

Vortex had caught them off guard but it won't work next time.

And scene!

Next chapter, when morning comes, Vortex finds himself being invited to work at Will place. Review/fav and follow!


	5. Chapter 5

I do not own Young Justice.

Enjoy!

"A Security Company?" Said Vortex with a raised eyebrow as he eat a bowl of cereal.

"You did say you were looking for work" said Will. "I'm always looking for new workers and you'll be making your own money"

"I'm a home designer. Do I look like I can fight to you?" Said Vortex.

"Well, you are oddly in shape" said Will. "You can run and tackle people"

"The only thing I do is lift weights and go for a jog. I don't get physical" said Vortex. "However, if your going through reinvastions then talk to me" he got up and began walking away.

"I'm here, if you ever change your mind" said Will.

He ignored the man, and went on his way.

But having his bank account closed, forced him to use his limited number of cash in his wallet and it was getting to him.

As result, he had to rely on Artemis and Will to keep him fed, there was nothing more shameful to him then having somebody else buy his own groccessaries and clothes for him.

Clothes that were oddly his size and found very quickly at the store.

He chalked it up as it not being the first time somebody had come to stay with them.

But what made him curious was the one rule, Artemis imposed on him.

Never go in her room.

She was all about asking him questions and imposing on his personal space by going into his room but for some reason, its a crime that he does go in hers.

And if not, the door would be locked and he didn't dare try to pick at it.

There was always somebody at home with him and you could tell he was curious about that room.

His limit was one week of relying on them.

He suddenly put his hands on the table and said. "Is the job still open?"

Will smiled.

#Scene Change#

"So please explain to me again how Vortex got away?" Said Batman to The Flash and Impulse.

Both of them looked embarrassed.

"We underestimated him" said The Flash. "We never encountered a speedster who would suddenly stop in mid run like that. That guy had one heck of a back arm though,

I was in the hospital for a day"

"It's clear he has fighting experience" said Impulse. "Maybe he's not just some thief, after all"

"You've guessed correctly" said Batman. "So far Vortex has hit 23 places. That we know of. I went through a list of what we know he stole. It's all thought to be random until Red tornado started pointing out that certain things could fit well with another. He is convinced that either Vortex or somebody he's working with is building something."

"Building something?" Said impulse. "What if he just stealing stuff that he wants?"

"If this is the case. A trap that no thief can resist is being set up." Said Batman. "How Vortex responds to this. Would determine if there is far more then what we are seeing"

Both of them looked at each other.

#Scene Change#

"Why is this uniform so itchy?" Vortex said as he cringed at the blue shirt and right blackish pants on his person.

"This was the only thing I found close to your size" said Will. "It's too small so I have to order. You have to make due for a few days"

And if looks could kill.

"So while we wait for somebody to request our services, let's talk" said Will, he used his stance as his boss to get him to sit. "Richard, right? Let's talk about your anger problem"

"I don't have a anger problem" said Vortex.

"Trust me, you do" said Will. "I can hear the rage underneath your words. Like your angry with the world and you just want it to leave you alone. You push everybody away when the truth is you just want somebody to talk to"

"Please, I'm not that weak" said Vortex. "Talking about feelings doesn't solve practical problems unless I'm getting paid. In that case, I'll be charge 200 an hour"

"You know its not healthy to be so obsessed with money, right?" Said Will.

"Tell that to my food and phone bill" said Vortex. "And so what if I'm angry, who wouldn't be? I had my whole job pulled out from under me in the middle of earning thousands for a job with a billionaire. Now I'm in a place I don't know. Moching off people because other people are after me."

"So it embrasses you?" Said Will.

"Of course it does." Said Vortex. "You have no idea what's its like to work for so long to gain a little bit of independence"

"Actually I do" said Will. "I used to have a mentor that I desperately tried to get away from. Did things on my own but in the end, my mentors teachings helped me in the long run and those friends I made under him"

And in response to that, Will got the strangest look he had ever seen as if he was speaking another language.

It was the only look he saw that wasn't anger or a flat face.

Now that he thought about it, that was cause for alarm.

But apparently he could fake it.

"Has anybody ever hugged you?" Said Will suddenly stunning him. "You know...told you, they loved you? You know it's not normal for a man your age to only have like three emotions"

"Please. And have somebody poking around in my head an hour a week?" Said Vortex. "I'm highly functing, there is nothing wrong with me. And why would anybody tell me, they loved me when I've been told, I'm one heck of a bastard when I'm not being paid to be kind?"

So he was aware...

"I don't know" said Will. "You'll be pretty surprised to know there are people out there who love a person no matter how much of a bastard they are to them"

"Yeah. Name one person that loves me" said Vortex.

Only for a long and uncomfortable silence as Will eyes went wide and he knew he said too much and began to cough.

"Wait. You know someone" said Vortex, sharp on the reactions. "Who? Don't tell me it's a guy. I don't swing that way. It's a girl isn't it? Who"

Thankfully the phone rang and Will used that to escape.

"Hello. Oh, you want to schedule our services?" Said Will. "Of course what do you need" he motioned for Vortex to leave.

Vortex reluctantly left and began walking the halls.

He was loved?

What crazy woman would love somebody like him?

Just then he heard.

"Hey, Tiger"

For some reason he turned around and saw none other then Artemis.

She seemed surprise that he turned around.

"What are you doing here?" He said.

She looked slightly hurt but it was covered in an instant as she said. "Just wanted to see how your doing. I know a lot happened to you"

"Have you found the people who want to kill me, yet?" Said Vortrex cutting through any concern coldly. "Why haven't you give me another identity so I can leave? I don't want to be in that prison of a safe house"

He couldn't understand why he wasn't hearing anything that brings him closer to leaving.

"Richard... Lex Luther has a lot of enemies. It's going to take more than a bit to track them down" said Artemis lying plausibly to him. "You just have to be patient"

The look on his face said it all as he looked at her cooly.

"I brought some food" she said, seeing she was losing him.

Food? His eyes lit up.

#Time Skip#

Vortex was not afraid to say he shoved the foot long sandwich into his mouth.

He tried to resist but this sandwich had beaten him down through the power of flavour.

It was just so goddamn good.

It was like this sandwich was specially designed to dance with his tastebuds.

Lost in flavour he heard.

"So the sandwich is that good?" Said Artemis looking amused.

Busted.

He caught his self control and said. "It's decent"

"Is that so..." Said Artemis before said. "Well since my sandwich isn't appreciated then I'll give the rest to Will"

What?

She went to leave but then was surprised when she felt him grab her arm.

Tight.

"I lied. It's good. Drop the sandwiches" he said.

The way to his heart was through his stomach, this hadn't changed no matter who he was.

A few minutes later Will found him stuffing his face like he hadn't eaten in years, with Artemis sandwich.

"You haven't done anything yet and already your eating" said Will.

"I need to keep my strength up" said Vortex trying to justify the delicious sandwiches while Artemis tried not to smile.

"For what? It's not like you have superpowers of something" said Will jokingly.

Vortex replied with a slightly playful tone. "Me, being one of those freaks of nature? No thank you."

What?

And Artemis came to their defence immediately and said. "Hey, those freaks have lives just like everybody-"

She noticed Vortex expression and Will 'shut up' hand gesture behind him, her words died in her lips.

"You make it sound like you know them personally or are one" said Vortex.

"What?" She said. "No. I'm human just like you, painfully bleeding and all. I just think you shouldn't judge people on how different they are from you and get to know them personally"

"Tell that to the guy, who ruined my life making me cling to you guys for 'safety'" he said. "Those who have superpowers are freaks"

"What about Superman?" Sais Will behind making him pause.

Artemis thought he would backtrack and call the man a hero.

"One of the biggest freaks on the planet" said Votrex said surprising both of them. "Sure he saves people but how many died or almost died when he fought with other freaks? That freak can snap me like a twig if he was half serious in crushing me. Biggest freak of all"

They both looked at each other, having clearly not expected him to be superpower hater.

Introducing him to Megan to see if there was something wrong with his mind, was a really bad idea now.

Well, not until he was open minded enough not to call people freaks.

Did he truly just look and sound like Wally or did something happen in the Speedforce that gave him a brand new personality?

He doesn't even seem to be aware that he could have some kind of power within him.

"Anyway, I just got off the phone" said Will. "We just got assigned your first job. Well, be guards at a facility. The other guys would be there as well"

"Other guys?" Said Vortex.

"Yeah, you don't think it's just us?" Said Will. "I gave the other guys the day off just to introduce you to stuff"

He saw Artemis look and he gave her a 'please talk to them about it look'.

But he was willing to bet Dick would come if it's to meet him.

"You know it's rude to have a worldless conversation in from me, right?" he said, extremely observant. "Anyway, as long as I get paid, I don't care"

His obsession for money could easily be misinterpreted as.

"As long as I get paid, any kind of work becomes Legal in my eyes"

A criminal mentality.

But that thought was dismissed.

However, they were about to get a front row seat to how two faced he could actually be when paid.

And scene!

Review/fav and follow!


End file.
